Chelsea and West Ham’s clash should have been remembered for Chelsea’s late winner, but instead it was all about an altercation in the dying embers.
The Blues put in arguably their best performance of Liam Rosenior‘s tenure in the second half against West Ham United, scoring three goals to secure all three points in the Premier League.
Chelsea saw a statement from Jean-Clair Todibo after the game, who took things too far by grabbing Joao Pedro by the neck during the altercation. This completely elevated the incident, which even saw Konstantinos Mavropanos try and slap Pedro around the face.
West Ham and Chelsea have both been fined £40,000 and £50,000 respectively by the Football Association for the actions of their players.
And Adama Traore seems to have calmed down after the altercation.
Was Enzo Maresca right all along?👀
Enzo Maresca on Chelsea injuries
Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images
Marc Cucurella admits he instigated the West Ham altercation
Speaking to 3 Cat Fanzone show, Cucurella admitted he had provoked Traore.
“It was late in the game,” he said. “We were barging into one another and I felt myself very close to him, and I thought, well, I’m going to stick my head in here to see if I can stir things up a bit.
“He grabbed me, threw me where he could, and a big brawl broke out.
“These are things that happen. I have no problem. Although if I ran into him on the street, I’d hesitate to say hello after this.”
Out of Andrey Santos, Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian, who deserves a World Cup place the most?🤔
Carlo Ancelotti thinks it's Estevao…
Joao Pedro, Andrey Santos and Estevao Willian's World Cup chances
Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images
Adama Traore responds to Marc Cucurella
It then got funny, as Adama Traore appeared on the exact same show, forgiving the Chelsea defender.
“He’s a really good guy. Everything stays on the field; it was just the heat of the moment. I really didn’t mean to do it; it wasn’t my intention.”
Cucurella’s discipline issues have hurt Chelsea at times this season, but this was much more of a typical wind-up from the Spaniard.
Nobody can knock the character Cucurella is. He’s always getting on the opposition’s nerves and riling up the opposition, which does benefit Chelsea at times.
He just needs to be careful.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox